System and method for sharing electronic news items

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for sending a first message to a recipient using a messaging channel, the message including information identifying an electronic news article provided by a data channel; receiving a second message from the recipient over the messaging channel, the second message having been composed in a news application; and displaying the second message in association with the electronic news article in the news application. A system and method are also provided for receiving a first message from a sender over a messaging channel, the message including information identifying an electronic news article provided by a data channel; obtaining the electronic news article using the data channel; enabling a second message to be composed in a news application displaying the electronic news article; and sending the second message to the sender using the messaging channel.

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/568,879 filed on Dec. 9, 2011, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following relates generally to systems and methods for sharingelectronic news items.

BACKGROUND

Portable electronic communication devices such as cellular telephones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, tablet computers,laptops, portable gaming devices, etc., are commonly used for exchangingdata with other electronic devices. In addition to exchanging messagesfor conversing among users of portable electronic communication devices,data items such as website content, media files, news articles, etc.,may be shared, e.g. by using a tailored messaging medium or applicationto exchange such data items.

The exchange of messages and the sharing of data often each requiretailored applications with associated user interfaces. Where theportable electronic communication device being used has a limiteddisplay screen, navigating between applications can be undesirable, inparticular where multiple applications are used often and at the sametime.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described by way of example only with referenceto the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a wireless communicationsystem comprising messaging channels and data channels;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a wireless communicationsystem comprising a peer-to-peer (P2P) system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a communication of amulti-cast P2P message via the P2P system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a P2P message;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration forthe wireless infrastructure and P2P system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration fora mobile device;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a set of computerexecutable operations that may be performed in initiating a chatconcerning an electronic news article;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a set of computerexecutable operations that may be performed in inviting at least onecontact to view an electronic news article;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a set of computerexecutable operations that may be performed in enabling an invitee toobtain an electronic news article in response to an invitation from aninviter;

FIG. 10 is an example of a user interface (UI) for a news application;

FIG. 11 is an example of a UI for a selected news feed;

FIG. 12 is an example of a UI for a selected electronic news article;

FIG. 13 is an example of a UI for preparing an IM chat invitation;

FIG. 14 is an example of a UI showing a menu comprising an option forsharing an electronic news article via various messaging media;

FIG. 15 is an example of a UI showing an IM chat invitation;

FIG. 16 is an example of a UI for a home screen showing a new itemindicator in association with an IM application icon;

FIG. 17 is an example of a UI for a home screen showing a new itemindicator in association with a news application icon;

FIG. 18 is an example of a UI for a home screen showing a newchat-related item indicator in association with a news application icon;

FIG. 19 is an example of a UI for a home screen showing a new itemindicator and a new chat-related item indicator in association with anews application icon;

FIG. 20 is an example of a UI for an IM conversation comprising a newsarticle invitation in an incoming IM message;

FIG. 21 is an example of a UI for an electronic news article with anembedded chat portion;

FIG. 22 is an example of a UI for a news application screen showing newsarticles including chats;

FIG. 23 is an example of a UI for a selected news feed wherein anarticle listed in the UI includes a chat indicator;

FIG. 24 is an example of a UI for an IM conversation comprising aportion of a news article and an option to obtain the full article;

FIG. 25 is an example of a UI for a download prompt displayed when aninvitee does not have a news application;

FIG. 26 is an example of a UI for an electronic news article with anembedded chat portion;

FIG. 27 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a set of computerexecutable operations that may be performed in ending a chat in anelectronic news article; and

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of an example of a configuration for a mobiledevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated amongthe figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Inaddition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the examples described herein. However, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theexamples described herein may be practised without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theexamples described herein. Also, the description is not to be consideredas limiting the scope of the examples described herein.

Although the principles discussed below are applicable to any electroniccommunication device, examples will be provided for a mobilecommunication device, which is one of many types of portable electroniccommunication devices.

For clarity in the discussion below, mobile communication devices may becommonly referred to as “mobile devices” for brevity. Examples ofapplicable mobile devices may include, without limitation, cellularphones, smart-phones, wireless organizers, pagers, personal digitalassistants, computers, laptops, handheld or other wireless communicationdevices, wirelessly enabled notebook computers, portable gaming devices,tablet computers, or any other portable electronic device withprocessing and communication capabilities.

In order to promote conversations between users of electronic devices,the following enables electronic news items (e.g., articles) to beshared using a peer-to-peer (P2P) medium (e.g., IM), and enables chatsto be facilitated from within a news application, based on a sharedarticle. By allowing articles to be shared via the P2P medium, and chatsto occur within the news application (and in association with a sharednews item), a bi-directional platform is provided for disseminating newscontent and allowing users to seamlessly share the content and ideas oropinions related to the content. Moreover, the P2P medium enables aplurality of users to participate in a chat concerning a particular newsitem, providing the ability to collaborate and share information morewidely within a network of contacts. For example, sharing a particularelectronic news article and chatting about same can enhance theconversation from within a single application. It can be appreciatedthat, although the following examples illustrate sharing an electronicnews item and chatting about the news item via a P2P medium, any of thecommunications described herein may be performed using a differentmedium, such as email, short message service (SMS), etc. For the purposeof illustration, the following examples will refer to news articles,however, it will be appreciated that the principles discussed herein mayapply to any news item, e.g., headline, press clipping, news-relatedvideo or audio, etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system 8 in whichvarious mobile devices 10 may communicate with each other via a wirelessnetwork 12. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a tablet computer 11 which, in theexample shown, is communicable with or “tethered” to a mobile device 10.It can be appreciated that the tablet computer 11 may also be capable ofaccessing the wireless network 12 without such tethering. In the exampleshown in FIG. 1, a mobile device 10 may send or receive data 14 via anassociated data channel 23, and may send or receive messages (msg) 15via an associated messaging channel 17. It can be appreciated that amessaging channel 17 may also be operable to send and receive data 14,and a data channel 23 may also be operable to send and receive messages.As such, the channel designations shown in FIG. 1 are for illustrativepurposes only. A network infrastructure 16 that is part of or otherwisecommunicable with the wireless network 12 provides, hosts, or otherwisefacilitates various messaging channels 17 and data channels 23. In theexample shown in FIG. 1, the messaging channels 17 are provided by a P2Psystem 18, an email system 20, and an SMS center (SMSC) 22; and the datachannels 23 are provided by an enterprise system 24, a web system (e.g.website server) 26, and a social networking system 28.

A communication system 8 such as that shown in FIG. 1 can be used toenable the sharing of data 14 and to enable chatting about data 14. Thesharing and chatting are enabled in part through sending an invitationor a portion of the data 14, using a message 15 sent over a messagingchannel 17. For example, in one embodiment and as will be exemplifiedbelow, any one of an invitation to view and/or chat about an electronicnews article data 14, a portion of the electronic news article data 14,or the entire news article data 14, may be sent from one mobile device10 to another mobile device 10 using one or more message 15 (see alsoFIG. 2) via the P2P system 18.

Turning to FIG. 2, another example of a communication system 8′ isshown. The communication system 8′, at least in part, enables mobiledevices, commonly referred to by numeral 10 (or using numeral 10 as aprefix—e.g. mobile device A, also denoted by 10A and mobile device B,also denoted by 10B), to communicate via a P2P system 18 via a wirelessnetwork 12. It will be appreciated that two mobile devices 10A, 10Bshown in FIG. 2 are for illustrative purposes only and many other mobiledevices 10 (not shown) may also be capable of communicating with orwithin the communication system 8′. It will also be appreciated thatalthough the examples shown herein are directed to mobile communicationdevices, the same principles may apply to other devices capable ofcommunicating with the P2P system 18. For example, an application (notshown) hosted by a desktop computer or other “non-portable” or“non-mobile” device may also be capable of communicating with otherdevices (e.g. including mobile devices 10) using the P2P system 18.

The P2P system 18 is a component of a wireless infrastructure 16′associated with the wireless network 12. The wireless infrastructure 16′comprises, in addition to the P2P system 18, and among other things notshown for simplicity, a personal identification number (PIN) database30. The PIN database 30 is used to store one or more PINs associatedwith particular mobile devices 10, whether they are subscribers to aservice provided by the wireless infrastructure 16′ or otherwise.

The mobile device 10A may communicate with the mobile device 10B andvice versa via the P2P system 18, in order to perform P2P messaging orto otherwise exchange P2P-based communications, as will be explained ingreater detail below. For ease of explanation, in the followingexamples, any P2P-based communication may also be referred to as a P2Pmessage 32 as shown in FIG. 2.

In some examples, the P2P system 18 is capable of sending multi-castmessages, i.e. forwarding a single message from a sender to multiplerecipients without requiring multiple P2P messages 32 to be generated bysuch sender. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the P2P system 18 isoperable to enable a single P2P message 32 to be sent to multiplerecipients by addressing the P2P message 32 to multiple correspondingP2P addresses, and having the P2P system 18 multicast the message 32 tothose recipients. In the example shown in FIG. 3 a multicast approachenables the sender (mobile device 10A) to create or forward one message32 in order to send the same data to multiple recipients (mobile devices10B, 10C, and 10D for example).

An example P2P message 32 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4, and hasa format that is particularly suitable for a PIN-to-PIN based P2Pmessaging system. In a typical P2P protocol 50 (see FIG. 5), each P2Pmessage 32 has associated therewith a source corresponding to the mobiledevice 10 which has sent the P2P message 32 and includes a destinationidentifying the one or more intended recipients. Each P2P message 32 inthis example comprises a body 36, which contains the content for the P2Pmessage 32 (e.g. text or other data), and a header 34, which containsvarious fields used for transmitting and processing each P2P message 32.In this example, the header 34 includes a message type field 38 tospecify the type of transmission (e.g. chat, registration, block,presence, news, share, invite etc.), a source field 40 to specify thedevice address or PIN for the sender, a destination field 42 to specifythe device address(es) or PIN(s) for the one or more intendedrecipients, an ID field 44 to identify the corresponding P2P applicationand a timestamp field 46 to indicate the time (and if desired, the date)at which the P2P message 32 was sent by the designated sender.

It can be appreciated that the ID field 44 can be used to specify theapplication ID to identify a P2P application on the mobile device 10.Where the P2P application relates to, for example, an instant messaging(IM) system, the message type field 38 can also be used to designate anIM communication, and the ID field 44 would then correspond to aconversation ID, i.e. a conversation thread the P2P message 32corresponds to (e.g. such that each P2P message 32 is identified by theconversation in which the P2P message 32 was sent).

It will be appreciated that other information or attributes may beincluded in the P2P message 32, such as a subject field (not shown) toenable a subject for part or all of a conversation (such as, forexample, in an IM implementation) to be transported with the P2P message32 (e.g., to create new subjects, modify subjects, notify others ofsubjects, etc.), or application details field (not shown) to provideapplication-specific information such as the version and capabilities ofthe application.

Turning now to FIG. 5, an exemplary configuration is shown that issuitable for a user of mobile device A, hereafter referred to as mobiledevice 10A, to conduct a P2P communication (e.g., instant messaging)with buddies included in a contact list (not shown). In FIG. 5, the P2Psystem 18 is incorporated into the wireless infrastructure 16′ of thewireless network 12. The P2P system 18 can utilize any suitable P2Pprotocol 50 operated by a P2P messaging router 48, shown in this exampleas part of the wireless infrastructure 16′. It can be appreciatedhowever, by those skilled in the art, that a stand-alone P2Pconfiguration (i.e. that does not rely on the wireless infrastructure16′—not shown) may equally apply the principles disclosed herein. Theexample configuration shown in FIG. 5 is particularly suitable forimplementing a PIN-based messaging system. As can be seen, the P2Pmessaging router 48 may also enable mobile devices 10 to communicatewith desktop computers 52 thus facilitating, for example, communicationssuch as instant messaging (IM) between mobile applications and desktopapplications on the desktop computer 52.

Particularly suitable for hosting the P2P messaging router 48, is awireless router or server used in systems such as those that providepush-based communication services. In FIG. 5, the wirelessinfrastructure 16′ facilitates P2P communications such as instantmessaging between mobile device 10A and mobile devices for User B, UserC and User D, denoted by 10B, 10C and 10D respectively using the P2Pmessaging router 48. It will be appreciated that the number of usersparticipating in the example shown in FIG. 5 is for illustrativepurposes only. P2P messaging, such as IM, is provided by an associatedapplication stored on each mobile device 10A-10D which can be initiatedby a user by, for example, highlighting and selecting an icon displayedon a display of a mobile device 10 as is well known by those skilled inthe art. The P2P messaging router 48 routes messages between the mobiledevices 10A-10D according to the P2P protocol 50. For example, the P2Pprotocol 50 may define a particular way in which to conduct IM or othertypes of messaging.

In general, in a P2P protocol 50, the sender of the P2P message 32 knowsthe source address of the intended recipient, e.g. a PIN. This may beestablished when the two devices request to add each other to theirrespective contact or buddy lists. It can be seen in the example shownin FIG. 5 that mobile device 10A can communicate directly with any ofthe mobile devices 10B-10D through the P2P messaging router 48 asindicated by the short-dashed line without requiring a dedicated serverfor facilitating communications. In other words, the P2P messagingrouter 48 enables the mobile devices 10 to communicate with each otherdirectly over the wireless infrastructure 16′ in accordance with the P2Pprotocol 50.

When conducting a P2P session according to the example shown in FIG. 5,the mobile devices 10A-10D can communicate directly with the wirelessinfrastructure 16′ in a client based exchange where, as noted above, anintermediate server is not required. A P2P message 32 sent by one mobiledevice 10 is received by the wireless infrastructure 16′, which obtainsthe source address for the intended recipient (or recipients) frominformation associated with the message 32 (e.g., a data log) or fromthe message 32 itself. Upon obtaining the recipient's address accordingto the P2P protocol 50, the wireless infrastructure 16′ routes themessage 32 to the recipient associated with the mobile device 10 havingsuch address (or recipients having respective addresses). The wirelessinfrastructure 16′ typically also provides a delivery confirmation tothe original sender, which may or may not be displayed to the user. Thedestination device can also provide such delivery information. Thewireless infrastructure 16′ should be capable of routing P2P messages 32reliably and hold onto (i.e. store, at least temporarily) the P2Pmessages 32 until they are successfully delivered. Alternatively oradditionally, if delivery cannot be made after a certain timeout period,the wireless infrastructure 16′ provides a response indicating a faileddelivery. In one embodiment, the wireless infrastructure 16′ chooses toexpire a message 32 if a certain waiting period lapses.

In order to promote conversations between users of electronic devices,mobile devices 10 may be configured to enable electronic news articlesto be shared using a P2P medium (e.g., IM), and to enable chats to befacilitated from within a news application, based on a shared article.By allowing articles to be shared via the P2P medium, and chats to occurwithin the news application, and in association with a shared article, abi-directional platform is provided for disseminating news content andallowing users to seamlessly share the content and ideas or opinionsrelated to the content. Moreover, the P2P medium enables a plurality ofusers to participate in a chat concerning a particular news article,providing the ability to collaborate and share information more widelywithin a network of contacts. For example, sharing a particularelectronic news article and chatting about same can enhance theconversation from within a single application.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a configuration for a mobile device 10.In the example shown in FIG. 6, the mobile device 10 is operable to sendand receive data and messages using a communication subsystem 54.Messages are sent and received using a corresponding messaging-channelapplication 60, and data are sent and received using a correspondingdata-channel application 62. In this example, an IM application 64 isshown to illustrate a particular messaging-channel application 60 and anews application 66 is shown to illustrate a particular data-channelapplication 62. It can be appreciated that although the examples belowutilize the IM application 64 and the news application 66, theprinciples equally apply to other messaging-channel applications 60,data-channel applications 62, and interactions therebetween. Forexample, other messaging-channel applications 60 may include SMS andemail applications (not shown); and other data-channel applications 62may include movie, song, book, and other digital media applications.

The IM application 64 sends and receives P2P messages 32, and the newsapplication 66 obtains news articles 14′ (e.g., receives, downloads,etc.). As will be discussed below, the news application 66 may also beoperable to send news articles 14′ or portions thereof, for example, insharing at least a portion of a news article 14′ with another entityusing a messaging interface 68 with the IM application 64. It can beappreciated that, as discussed further below, content of a news article14′ may also be sent in one or more P2P messages 32 in order to enableone mobile device 10 to provide the news article 14′ to another mobiledevice 10 using the IM application 64. The mobile device 10 alsoincludes a UI module 56 for rendering UI elements and “screens” showingsuch elements, for various applications, on a display 58. The messaginginterface 68 is operable to enable the news application 66 to access orutilize features of a messaging-channel application 60. For example, theIM application 64 may provide an application programming interface (API)that exposes functionality to the news application 66 to enable an IMchat to be embedded or otherwise displayed with a particular newsarticle 14′.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of computer executable operations that maybe performed by a mobile device 10 in initiating a chat concerning anelectronic news article. It can be appreciated that although FIG. 7illustrates an example including a pair of mobile devices 10, theprinciples discussed below equally apply to scenarios wherein one ormore other types of devices participate in the exchange of messages andnews articles or portions thereof. At 70, a data channel 23 provided bya web system (e.g. a web-based server providing a Really SimpleSyndication (RSS) feed) provides a particular news article. For example,the web system posts or otherwise makes the news article available orsends a feed containing the news article to subscribers of a news feed.At 72, a first mobile device 10 enables the news article provided by theweb system to be obtained. For example, the first mobile device 10 mayenable the news article to be downloaded using a news application orenable a news feed to be subscribed to thus enabling news articles to betransmitted to the first mobile device 10 on a periodic basis. At 74,the first mobile device 10 enables an invitation to be sent to a secondmobile device 10 associated with a contact of a user of the first mobiledevice 10 (Contact A in the examples herein) to chat about the articleobtained at 72. The invitation sent at 74 is sent using a messagingchannel 17 that is associated with a messaging-channel application onthe first mobile device 10, from which the invitation is initiated. Inthis example, an invitation is sent using an IM application, wherein aP2P system provides the messaging channel 17. The system orinfrastructure used by the messaging channel 17 forwards or otherwisefacilitates the delivery of a message containing the invitation at 76,the invitation message being received by the second mobile device 10 at78. For example, a P2P message may be used to send an invitation toContact A using the second mobile device 10. It can be appreciated thatthe invitation message may also include at least a portion of the newsarticle in order to provide a preview or other enticement to encourageContact A to obtain and view the same news article.

At 80, the second mobile device 10 requests the news article associatedwith the invitation received at 78. As noted above, a portion of thenews article may be included in the invitation message or a link toenable the second mobile device 10 to download the news article orsubscribe to a news feed that distributes the news article. At 82 thenews article is provided by the associated data channel 23 and isobtained by the second mobile device 10 at 84 through a communicableconnection between the second mobile device 10 and a system (e.g. webserver) providing the data channel 23. For example, the invitationmessage received by the second mobile device 10 at 78 is used toinitiate downloading of the news article from a web server used usingthe data channel 23. It can be appreciated that the news article may beobtained by the first and second mobile devices 10 from the same sourceor from different sources. For example, the news article contents may bedistributed by a news association but made available through multiplenews sources.

As also shown in FIG. 7, at 82′ the first mobile device 10 that sent theinvitation message at 74 may also send the news article or any remainingportions thereof that were not included in the invitation by sending oneor more additional messages to the second mobile device 10. At 83 thenews article or any remaining portions thereof are forwarded from thefirst mobile device 10 to the second mobile device 10 using themessaging channel 17. In this way, Contact A can receive the newsarticle on the second mobile device 10 using the same messaging channel17 that is used for messaging between the first mobile device 10 and thesecond mobile device 10. At 84 the new article is obtained by the secondmobile device 10.

After the news article is obtained at the second mobile device 10, aconversation about the news article can begin at 86 of FIG. 7, whereContact A composes a new message using a news application on the secondmobile device 10. For example, if a relationship exists between thesecond mobile device 10 and another mobile device of a second user (notshown), the news application 66 of the second mobile device 10 providesthe ability to compose a new chat message within, or in associationwith, the news article. At 88, once the new chat message has beencomposed, a messaging interface operates to send the new chat message tothe mobile device of the second user using the associated messagingchannel 17, e.g., using a P2P system and an IM application. At 90 themessaging channel 17 facilitates the forwarding of the new chat messageto the mobile device of the second user. At 92 the mobile device of thesecond user receives the new chat message and displays a representationor indication of the new chat message in association with its newsapplication 66 in, for example, an embedded chat for the shared newsarticle.

It can be appreciated that the invitation message sent at 74 can becomposed in various ways and can provide various information. Forexample, if the associated messaging channel 17 permits enoughbandwidth, a portion of the news article and a headline can be providedas part of the invitation message with a link or option to have therecipient or “invitee” obtain the full article either by obtainingfurther content via the same messaging channel 17, or by accessing athird party server or data channel 23.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 8, an invitation message can becomposed and sent as a new message instead of transporting a portion ofthe news article itself, or preceding such transport. Turning now toFIG. 8, a contact selector may be provided by the messaging interface,at 98, which enables the selection of one or more contacts. It can beappreciated that the invitation may also be prepared for, and sent to, auser that is not currently a contact, e.g. using an email address, phonenumber, PIN, or other identifier known to the user. Such an invitationmay be used when the messaging channel 17 being used does not rely oncontacts or buddies (e.g. email) for regular communications. Thefollowing examples will, however, assume that the invitee is a contactthat is known to the user of the mobile device 10, i.e. another user ofat least a particular messaging channel\that is within the user'saddress book or social network or is otherwise known or familiar to theuser. An invitation sent to a contact enables the messaging interface toutilize other features provided by the messaging-based application, e.g.IM presence, contact profiles, etc.

As can be seen in FIG. 8, the contact selector provided at 98 may beoptionally populated with only contacts that have a news application bydetermining at 96 which of the contacts has the news application. Suchinformation may be provided by a server or other network componentassociated with a messaging channel. For example, an IM presence server(not shown) may append information to a presence update or other datapacket that indicates whether or not particular contacts have the newsapplication. Determining which contacts have the news applicationprovides a filtering of the contacts to identify to the user which oftheir contacts are currently using the news application. Such filteringenables a user to conveniently chat with other news application userswithout causing the recipient user to have to obtain the newsapplication if it does not yet have the news application.

At 100 the messaging interface may then determine whether or not atleast one contact selection has been verified, e.g. by detectingselection of an input verifying the selections. If the contactselections have not been verified, the messaging interface ends theinvitation process at 102. If the contact selections are verified at100, the invitation and any associated message are sent to the one ormore selected contacts at 104. It can be appreciated that the additionalverification at 100, shown in FIG. 8, is optional.

In examples wherein an invitation can be sent to any contact (or userswhich are not currently contacts), the recipient or invitee may notcurrently have the news application installed on their mobile device.FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a set of computer executable operationsthat may be performed by a second mobile device 10 at 84 (of FIG. 7)after detecting an input requesting the article at 80 (of FIG. 7). At106, the messaging-channel application determines whether or not thesecond mobile device 10 has the news application 66. If the secondmobile device 10 does have the news application 66, the news application66 is initiated at 108 to obtain the news article 14′ associated withthe invitation. If the second mobile device 10 does not have the newsapplication 66, the messaging-channel application 60 or an operatingsystem (OS) for the second mobile device 10, or another application,enables the news application to be downloaded at 110. For example, auniform resource locator (URL) or other link may be provided in amessage 15 that directs a mobile device browser to a web site or service(e.g. an application store) providing a downloadable file. At 112, thesecond mobile device 10 determines whether or not the news application66 has been installed. If not, e.g., if the user cancels the download,the process ends at 114. If the news application 66 has been installed,the news application 66 may be initiated to obtain the news article at108.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a news application UI 116 that isdisplayed as part of a news application such as, for example, newsapplication 66 of FIG. 6. The news application UI 116 includes an unreaditems portion 117, which is selected to view news articles that havebeen received by the news application but not yet viewed or read; and anIM chats portion 118, which is selected to view news articles that havechats associated therewith. An add feed option 119 is also provided inthe news application UI 116, which enables a news feed to be subscribedto for receiving news articles associated with the added news feed. Thenews application UI 116 also includes a list of news feeds 120. In thisexample, the list of news feeds 120 includes News Feed A, News Feed B,and News Feed C. As shown in FIG. 10, on detecting selection of NewsFeed A, a news feed UI 121 for News Feed A is displayed, as shown inFIG. 11. The news feed UI 121 includes a list of news articles 122. Ondetecting selection of Article 3 in the list of news articles 122 asshown in FIG. 11, a news article UI 124 may be displayed as shown inFIG. 12.

The news article UI 124 of FIG. 12 includes an article headline portion125, which may include date and time information related to the article,in addition to the headline; and includes an article content portion126, which displays at least a portion of the news article. As can beseen in FIG. 12, a full article button 127 is provided, which whenselected, causes the news application to obtain any portion of the newsarticle that has not yet been obtained, and in some embodimentsdisplaying the obtained portion. A forward as button 128 is provided toenable an indication of the news article, such as a link, to beforwarded to a recipient, such as another mobile device, e.g. via IM,SMS, email, Twitter feed, etc. A new chat button 129 is also provided inthe news article UI 124, which enables a chat concerning the newsarticle to be initiated and associated with the news article UI 124. Itcan be appreciated that by providing the new chat button 129, the usercan choose to go beyond merely sharing an article, and can proceed toshare thoughts, opinions, and ideas regarding the article. As discussedabove, a messaging interface enables the news application to utilize anexisting messaging-based protocol, UI, and experience to further enhancethe news article chat.

In one example shown in FIG. 13, selection of the new chat button 129 ofFIG. 12 initiates an invitation process by displaying a news chatinvitation UI 130. As can be seen in FIG. 13, the news chat invitationUI 130 may include a search bar 131 for searching for potential chatparticipants, such as within a list of contacts 132. The list ofcontacts 132 enables selection of one or more contacts with which theuser wishes to chat about the news article, in this example, Article 3from News Feed A. It can be appreciated that, as discussed above, thelist of contacts 132 can be filtered such that only contacts having thenews application (or an equivalent thereof) are shown. In this example,a show all contacts option 133 is provided, to enable such filtering tobe turned off. An OK button 135 is provided and may be selected toinitiate sending the invitation, and a Cancel button 136 is provided andmay be selected to abort the invitation process.

It can be appreciated that initiating a chat concerning a news articlemay be performed in other ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, a menu140 including a chat option 142 may be invoked while the news article UI124 is displayed. In this example the chat option 142 includes varioussub-options 144, including options to chat via email, IM, or SMS. It canbe appreciated that any messages exchanged via any protocol can be usedto populate a chat associated with a news article. For example, portionsof email messages (not shown) may be displayed with the news article UI124 to post comments with respect to the news article. A familiar orotherwise common UI (not shown) may also be displayed regardless ofwhich messaging protocol is used. For example, a messaging interface maybe operable to enable a chat to occur between IM contacts and anadditional contact via SMS, with all messages being displayed in aconsistent fashion (e.g. as shown in FIG. 22 and described below).

Returning to the example of FIG. 13, after detecting selection of the OKbutton 135, an invite message UI 146 is displayed as shown in FIG. 15.The invite message UI 146 enables a message related to the news articleto be entered into a message input box 148. The message may be used tostimulate a conversation about the article or otherwise identify apotential interest in the article. The message may be sent in additionto or instead of a portion of content from the news article. An invitebutton 150 is provided, which when selected, causes the invitation to besent to the one or more contacts selected from the news chat invitationUI 130. A cancel button 152 is provided, to enable the invitationprocess to be aborted before the invitation is sent.

The invitation sent following a selection of invite button 150 isreceived by a computing device associated with the one or more contactsselected using, for example, list of contacts 132 of FIG. 13. Asdiscussed above, the invitation may be provided to the computing deviceof the selected contact(s) in various ways.

In the following examples, an invitation to view and chat about Article3 from News Feed A has been sent pursuant to a detected selection OKbutton 135 of FIG. 13 from a mobile device to a computing device ofContact A, wherein both the mobile device and the computing device arerunning a news application.

In a first example, the invitation is sent using a messaging applicationassociated with a messaging channel that is used to conduct chatsessions. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, Contact A may receive theinvitation in an IM application, wherein a new IM activity indicator 160is displayed in association with an IM icon 158 on a home screen 154 orother screen (e.g. using a colored “splat”).

In a second example, the invitation is received or otherwise madeavailable through a news application on the computing device and isdisplayed within a news application UI. For example, as shown in FIG.17, Contact A may receive the invitation in a news application, whereina news activity indicator 164 is displayed in association with a newsicon 162 on the home screen 154 or other screen (e.g. using a colored“splat”). As shown in FIG. 18, an IM indicator 166 may also be displayedin connection with the news icon 162 to indicate that an IM chat existsor has been initiated within at least one news article. In yet anotherexample, both a new IM activity indicator 164 and an IM indicator 166can also be displayed together in connection with the news icon 162.

It can be appreciated that an invitation may be received via amessaging-channel application (e.g., as shown in FIG. 16) to establishthe chat relationship using a messaging interface, with subsequent chatmessages being routed through and displayed by a news application. Thismay be advantageous in order to allow users to control which chats theywish to accept via the messaging-channel application to avoid severalchats beginning within the news application that are not of interest.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of an IM UI 168 as seen by Contact Aafter receiving an invitation through the IM application 64, asdescribed above. In this example, the IM UI 168 includes a headerportion 170, which may include contact profile information, presenceinformation, and an avatar for the sender of the invitation; a messagehistory portion 172, which includes outgoing messages 174 and incomingmessages 176; and a message entry box 178 for composing new outgoingmessages. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the latest incoming message176 includes an invitation header 180 indicating that the senderidentified in the header portion 170 has sent an invitation to launch anews application with respect to an article. A message contents portion182 is also displayed in the incoming message 176, which corresponds tothe message composed by the sender when creating the invitation. Anaccept button 184 included in the incoming message 176 enables the newsapplication to be launched from the IM UI 168 in order to display thenews article associated with the invitation and begin chatting about, orotherwise interacting with, the news article. A decline button 186 isalso provided, which can be selected to enable the recipient (i.e., theinvitee—Contact A) to not accept the invitation and thus forego or avoidlaunching the news application. By selecting the accept button 184, ashared news article UI 194 is displayed as shown in FIG. 21.

It can be appreciated that the shared news article UI 194 shown in FIG.21 is as seen by Contact A and a similar UI (not shown) may be seen bythe sender of the invitation. The shared news article UI 194 in thisexample includes a similar look and feel as the news article UI 124shown in FIG. 12 in an upper portion 195 thereof, including an articleheadline portion 196, an article content portion 198, a full articlebutton 200, and a forward as button 202. To enable a chat associatedwith the news article to be concluded or otherwise cancelled or deleted,an end chat button 204 is also included in the upper portion 195 of theshared news article UI 194. The shared news article UI 194 also embeds alower messaging portion 206 that includes a similar look and feel as theIM UI shown in FIG. 20. In this example, the lower messaging portion 206includes a header portion 208, which identifies the one or more contactsparticipating with Contact A in the chat, and may also identify asubject such as the article being discussed (e.g., Article 3). Themessaging portion 206 also includes an outgoing message 212 and anincoming message 214 in a message history portion 210, and a messagecomposition portion 216. A hide bar 218 may also be provided as shown inFIG. 21, to hide or expose the message composition portion 216. Byembedding the messaging portion 206 in the shared news article UI 194, aconversation can take place in association with a news article withouthaving to switch between separate applications. Moreover, conversationhistory between the contacts that relates to the news article can bekept separate from other conversations in the IM application. It is tobe understood that FIG. 21 is one example of the specific ordering andexistence of elements and that specific elements can be reordered orhidden or removed altogether in other embodiments. For example, in someembodiments header portion 208 does not include a subject.

Once a chat has been initiated for at least one article, the IM chatsportion 118, shown in FIG. 10, can be updated to show that a particularnumbers of articles include a chat. FIG. 22 illustrates an articles withchats UI 188 that may be displayed after detecting selection of the IMchats portion 118. The articles with chats UI 188 includes a list ofarticles with chats 190. Each item in the list of articles with chats190 may include identifying or contextual information 192, such asmessage contents or conversation participants. For example, the latestmessage sent in the chat may be displayed as the contextual information192. In the example shown in FIG. 22, Article 3, for which a chat wasinitialized in FIGS. 12 to 15, is shown in the list of articles withchats 190, along with another news article, Article N, that in thisexample, is shared with an Other User. It can be appreciated that theitems in the list of articles with chats 190 may be sorted according toconversation activity or other criteria, for example, a send time, areceive time, whether or not there are unread messages, etc.

FIG. 23 illustrates another view of the news feed UI 121 for News Feed Ashown in FIG. 11, wherein the item in the list of article 122 thatidentifies Article 3 includes a chat indication 220. It can be seen inthis example, that more than one chat may be associated with the samenews article. As such, both group conversations concerning a newsarticle may be supported, as well as separate conversations concerningthe same news article. In one example, chat indication 220 provides asummary of the number of chats ongoing with regards to the news article.In another example, chat indication 220 includes a representation ofeach of the chats ongoing with regards to the news article and provides,for example, a list of the chat participants or a preview of the latestactivity in the chat, or both.

As discussed above, where a messaging channel permits or supports enoughbandwidth, an invitation can include additional information, such as thearticle headline and at least a portion of the article, to providefurther context with respect to the invitation. FIG. 24 illustrates anexample in which an incoming IM message 176 includes the articleheadline 222, a portion of the article 224, and a get button 226. It canbe appreciated that, as shown in FIG. 24, a cancel button may beexcluded, wherein not selecting the get button 226 implicitly ignoresthe invitation. By providing a portion of the article 224 rather than acustom message, the number of steps in the invitation process may bereduced. However, it can be appreciated that a custom message may alsobe included with the portion of the article 224 and the article headline222 to provide even further context with respect to the invitation. Forexample, the user may add a message that reads: “Remember we werediscussing this last night?”, which may increase the likelihood that therecipient will be interested in the article being sent. Providing aportion of the article 224 can also allow the recipient to preview thenews article before deciding to download and install a news application.

As also discussed above, if the recipient of an invitation to view anews article does not currently have a news application, the recipientmay be assisted in downloading the news application. For example, asshown in FIG. 25, after the get button 226 has been selected (as shownin FIG. 24), or after any other suitable input or trigger, such asreceipt of the invitation (not shown), a download UI 228 is displayedthat provides a message indicating that the recipient needs the newsapplication in order to view the article. A download button 230 may beprovided to enable a download process, and a cancel button 232 may beprovided to enable the download process to be avoided. By providing thedownload UI 228, sharing news articles through a messaging channel cancontribute to the increased adoption of the news application. Moreover,a download process associated with the download UI 228 can provide aseamless entrée into the news application by having a shared article UI194 (of FIG. 21) displayed upon the download completing.

It can be appreciated that a chat can be embedded into a news article invarious ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 26, a shared news article234 having a headline portion 236 and an article content portion 238,can be arranged to include outgoing messages 242, incoming messages 244,and message composition entry box 246 along one side of the articlecontent portion 238 to facilitate scrolling through the news article. Anend chat button 240 may also be provided in any suitable location, suchas part of the article headline portion 236 as shown in FIG. 26. It canalso be appreciated that multiple orientations can be selectable withinthe news article UI 234. For example, the arrangement shown in FIG. 26can be changed to the arrangement shown in FIG. 21 and vice versa, e.g.,by detecting selection of a menu option, detecting selection of anexternal key or other input, etc.

In addition to enabling a chat to be ended or removed, e.g., using theend chat button 204 (of FIG. 21) or end chat button 240 (of FIG. 26),various other chat management criteria may also be employed. FIG. 27illustrates an example of a set of computer executable operations thatmay be performed in managing chat expiration. At 250, a messaginginterface enables chat messages to be included with a news article, anddetermines at 252, if end chat button 204, 240 has been selected. If theend chat button 204, 240 has not been selected, the messaging interfacemay then determine at 254 if the last message sent has reached an expirytime. For example, a chat may be automatically removed from a newsarticle if the last message sent is particularly old, such as 1 month.Such an automatic removal can be employed to provide chat expirymanagement without necessarily relying on the user to remember to endthe chat. By removing a chat, the IM chats portion 118 (of FIG. 10) canbe de-cluttered to make more current articles with more current chatsmore easily accessible.

If the last (i.e. most recent) message in the chat for a news articlehas reached the expiry time, or the end chat button 204, 240 has beenselected, the chat is removed from the news article at 256. Removing thechat may then cause the article to be removed from UI screens that sortor filter news articles based on whether or not a chat is associatedtherewith, e.g., as shown in FIGS. 10, 22, and 23.

In addition to removing a chat status from a news article, the newsarticles stored or otherwise held by a news application can also beremoved or archived according to one or more criteria. At 258, the newsapplication determines whether or not the news article for which thechat has been removed should be archived or removed, e.g. if it hasreached an article storage expiry. If not, the article managementprocess ends at 260. If the news article should be archived or removed,the news application moves the news article (e.g., to an archive), ordeletes the news article at 262.

Accordingly, there is provided a method comprising: sending a firstmessage to a recipient using a messaging channel, the message includinginformation identifying an electronic news item provided by a datachannel; receiving a second message from the recipient over themessaging channel, the second message having been composed in a newsapplication; and displaying the second message in association with theelectronic news item in the news application.

There is also provided a method comprising: receiving a first messagefrom a sender over a messaging channel, the message includinginformation identifying an electronic news item provided by a datachannel; obtaining the electronic news item using the data channel;enabling a second message to be composed in a news applicationdisplaying the electronic news item; and sending the second message tothe sender using the messaging channel to enable the sender to displaythe second message in association with the electronic news item.

There is also provided a computer readable medium comprising computerexecutable instructions for: sending a first message to a recipientusing a messaging channel, the message including information identifyingan electronic news item provided by a data channel; receiving a secondmessage from the recipient over the messaging channel, the secondmessage having been composed in a news application; and displaying thesecond message in association with the electronic news item in the newsapplication.

There is also provided an electronic device comprising a processor andmemory, the memory comprising computer executable instructions that whenexecuted by the processor operate the electronic device to: send a firstmessage to a recipient using a messaging channel, the message includinginformation identifying an electronic news item provided by a datachannel; receive a second message from the recipient over the messagingchannel, the second message having been composed in a news application;and display the second message in association with the electronic newsitem in the news application.

There is also provided a computer readable medium comprising computerexecutable instructions for: receiving a first message from a senderover a messaging channel, the message including information identifyingan electronic news item provided by a data channel; obtaining theelectronic news item using the data channel; enabling a second messageto be composed in a news application displaying the electronic newsitem; and sending the second message to the sender using the messagingchannel to enable the sender to display the second message inassociation with the electronic news item.

There is also provided an electronic device comprising a processor andmemory, the memory comprising computer executable instructions that whenexecuted by the processor operate the electronic device to: receive afirst message from a sender over a messaging channel, the messageincluding information identifying an electronic news item provided by adata channel; obtain the electronic news item using the data channel;enable a second message to be composed in a news application displayingthe electronic news item; and send the second message to the senderusing the messaging channel to enable the sender to display the secondmessage in association with the electronic news item.

Referring now to FIG. 28, shown therein is a block diagram of an exampleof a mobile device 10. The mobile device 10 comprises a number ofcomponents such as a main processor 302 that controls the overalloperation of the mobile device 10. Communication functions, includingdata and voice communications, are performed through a communicationsubsystem 54. The communication subsystem 54 receives messages from andsends messages to a wireless network 12. In this example of the mobiledevice 10, the communication subsystem 54 is configured in accordancewith the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and General PacketRadio Services (GPRS) standards. The GSM/GPRS wireless network is usedworldwide and it is expected that these standards will be supersededeventually by 3G and 4G networks such as Enhanced Data-rates for GlobalEvolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) andHigh-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), etc. Newstandards are still being defined, but it is believed that they willhave similarities to the network behaviour described herein, and it willalso be understood by persons skilled in the art that the examplesdescribed herein are intended to use any other suitable standards thatare developed in the future. The wireless link connecting thecommunication subsystem 54 with the wireless network 12 represents oneor more different Radio Frequency (RF) channels, operating according todefined protocols specified for GSM/GPRS communications. With newernetwork protocols, these channels are capable of supporting both circuitswitched voice communications and packet switched data communications.

The main processor 302 also interacts with additional subsystems such asa Random Access Memory (RAM) 306, a flash memory 308, a display 58, anauxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 312, a data port 314, a keyboard316, a speaker 318, a microphone 320, GPS receiver 321, short-rangecommunications subsystem 322 and other device subsystems 324.

Some of the subsystems of the mobile device 10 performcommunication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide“resident” or on-device functions. By way of example, the display 58 andthe keyboard 316 may be used for both communication-related functions,such as entering a text message for transmission over the network 12,and device-resident functions such as a calculator or task list.

The mobile device 10 can send and receive communication signals over thewireless network 12 after required network registration or activationprocedures have been completed. Network access is associated with asubscriber or user of the mobile device 10. To identify a subscriber,the mobile device 10 may use a subscriber module. Examples of suchsubscriber modules include a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) developedfor GSM networks, a Removable User Identity Module (RUIM) developed forCDMA networks and a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)developed for 3G networks such as UMTS. In the example shown, aSIM/RUIM/USIM 326 is to be inserted into a SIM/RUIM/USIM interface 328in order to communicate with a network. Once the SIM/RUIM/USIM 326 isinserted into the SIM/RUIM/USIM interface 328, it is coupled to the mainprocessor 302. The SIM/RUIM/USIM 326 may store additional subscriberinformation for a mobile device as well, including datebook (orcalendar) information and recent call information. Alternatively, useridentification information can also be programmed into the flash memory308.

The mobile device 10 is typically a battery-powered device and includesa battery interface 332 for receiving one or more batteries 68(typically rechargeable). In at least some examples, the battery 68 canbe a smart battery with an embedded microprocessor. The batteryinterface 332 is coupled to a regulator (not shown), which assists thebattery 68 in providing power V+ to the mobile device 10. Althoughcurrent technology makes use of a battery, future technologies such asmicro fuel cells may provide the power to the mobile device 10.

The mobile device 10 also includes an operating system 334 and softwarecomponents 336 to 346 which are described in more detail below. Theoperating system 334 and the software components 336 to 346 that areexecuted by the main processor 302 are typically stored in a persistentstore such as the flash memory 308, which may alternatively be aread-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the operating system334 and the software components 336 to 346, such as specific deviceapplications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into avolatile store such as the RAM 306. Other software components can alsobe included, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The subset of software applications 336 that control basic deviceoperations, including data and voice communication applications, may beinstalled on the mobile device 10 during its manufacture. Other softwareapplications include a message application 338 that can be any suitablesoftware program that allows a user of the mobile device 10 to send andreceive electronic messages. Various alternatives exist for the messageapplication 338 as is well known to those skilled in the art. Messagesthat have been sent or received by the user are typically stored in theflash memory 308 of the mobile device 10 or some other suitable storageelement in the mobile device 10. In at least some examples, some of thesent and received messages may be stored remotely from the mobile device10 such as in a data store of an associated host system that the mobiledevice 10 communicates with.

The software applications can further comprise a device state module340, a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 342, and other suitablemodules (not shown). The device state module 340 provides persistence,i.e. the device state module 340 ensures that important device data isstored in persistent memory, such as the flash memory 308, so that thedata is not lost when the mobile device 10 is turned off or loses power.

The PIM 342 includes functionality for organizing and managing dataitems of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail,contacts, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. APIM application has the ability to send and receive data items via thewireless network 12. PIM data items may be seamlessly integrated,synchronized, and updated via the wireless network 12 with the mobiledevice subscriber's corresponding data items stored and/or associatedwith a host computer system. This functionality creates a mirrored hostcomputer on the mobile device 10 with respect to such items. This can beparticularly advantageous when the host computer system is the mobiledevice subscriber's office computer system.

FIG. 28 also illustrates the IM application 64 and news application 66which, as discussed above, utilize the communication subsystem 54 tocommunicate with corresponding messaging and data channels respectively.

Other types of software applications or components 339 can also beinstalled on the mobile device 10. These software applications 339 canbe pre-installed applications (i.e. other than message application 338)or third party applications, which are added after the manufacture ofthe mobile device 10. Examples of third party applications includegames, calculators, utilities, etc.

The additional applications 339 can be loaded onto the mobile device 10through at least one of the wireless network 12, the auxiliary I/Osubsystem 312, the data port 314, the short-range communicationssubsystem 322, or any other suitable device subsystem 324. Thisflexibility in application installation increases the functionality ofthe mobile device 10 and may provide enhanced on-device functions,communication-related functions, or both. For example, securecommunication applications may enable electronic commerce functions andother such financial transactions to be performed using the mobiledevice 10.

The data port 314 enables a subscriber to set preferences through anexternal device or software application and extends the capabilities ofthe mobile device 10 by providing for information or software downloadsto the mobile device 10 other than through a wireless communicationnetwork. The alternate download path may, for example, be used to loadan encryption key onto the mobile device 10 through a direct and thusreliable and trusted connection to provide secure device communication.

The data port 314 can be any suitable port that enables datacommunication between the mobile device 10 and another computing device.The data port 314 can be a serial or a parallel port. In some instances,the data port 314 can be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port that includesdata lines for data transfer and a supply line that can provide acharging current to charge the battery 68 of the mobile device 10.

The short-range communications subsystem 322 provides for communicationbetween the mobile device 10 and different systems or devices, withoutthe use of the wireless network 12. For example, the subsystem 322 mayinclude an infrared device and associated circuits and components forshort-range communication. Examples of short-range communicationstandards include standards developed by the Infrared Data Association(IrDA), Bluetooth, and the 802.11 family of standards developed by IEEE.

In use, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, orweb page download may be processed by the communication subsystem 54 andinput to the main processor 302. The main processor 302 may then processthe received signal for output to the display 58 or alternatively to theauxiliary I/O subsystem 312. A subscriber may also compose data items,such as e-mail messages, for example, using the keyboard 316 inconjunction with the display 58 and possibly the auxiliary I/O subsystem312. The auxiliary I/O subsystem 312 may comprise devices such as: atouch screen, mouse, track ball, track pad, optical navigation module,infrared fingerprint detector, or a roller wheel with dynamic buttonpressing capability. The keyboard 316 is an alphanumeric keyboard and/ortelephone-type keypad. However, other types of keyboards may also beused, such as a virtual or “soft” keyboard rendered as images on a touchscreen. A composed item may be transmitted over the wireless network 12through the communication subsystem 54.

For voice communications, the overall operation of the mobile device 10in this example is substantially similar, except that the receivedsignals are output to the speaker 318, and signals for transmission aregenerated by the microphone 320. Alternative voice or audio I/Osubsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, can also beimplemented on the mobile device 10. Although voice or audio signaloutput is accomplished primarily through the speaker 318, the display 58can also be used to provide additional information such as the identityof a calling party, duration of a voice call, or other voice callrelated information.

It will be appreciated that any module or component exemplified hereinthat executes instructions may include or otherwise have access tocomputer readable media such as storage media, computer storage media,or data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, forexample, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Computer storage mediamay include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Examples of computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks(DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by an application, module, or both. Any such computerstorage media may be part of the mobile device 10, any component of orrelated to the network infrastructure 16, etc., or accessible orconnectable thereto. Any application or module herein described may beimplemented using computer readable/executable instructions that may bestored or otherwise held by such computer readable media.

It will also be appreciated that the examples and corresponding diagramsused herein are for illustrative purposes only. Different configurationsand terminology can be used without departing from the principlesexpressed herein. For instance, components and modules can be added,deleted, modified, or arranged with differing connections withoutdeparting from these principles.

The steps or operations in the flow charts and diagrams described hereinare just for example. There may be many variations to these steps oroperations without departing from the spirit of the invention orinventions. For instance, the steps may be performed in a differingorder, or steps may be added, deleted, or modified.

Although the above has been described with reference to certain specificexamples, various modifications thereof will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising a sender: obtaining anelectronic news item from at least one external information processingsystem; presenting the electronic news item in a news application to thesender, wherein the news application is an executable applicationseparate and distinct from a web browser, and wherein the newsapplication is dedicated to managing electronic news items and messagingoperations associated with the electronic news items; providing, whilepresenting the electronic news item in the news application, an optionin a user interface for the news application to chat about theelectronic news item utilizing peer-to-peer messaging, whereinpeer-to-peer messaging enables the sender and a recipient to directlycommunicate with each other through a peer-to-peer network withoutrequiring a dedicated server for the news application in order to managepeer-to-peer messaging between the sender and the recipient, and whereinthe option is separate from the electronic news item; in response todetermining that the sender has selected the option, sending, from thenews application, a first message to a recipient using a messagingchannel associated with a messaging application, where the messagingapplication is used to at least transmit messages other than messagesfrom the news application, wherein the first message is a peer-to-peermessage and includes a portion of content from the electronic news itembeing viewed by the sender using the news application and a selectableoption for obtaining the electronic news item associated with theportion of content, the selectable option being separate and distinctfrom the portion of content, wherein the electronic news item isaccessible to the sender and the recipient via a data channel associatedwith the news application, wherein the data channel is separate anddistinct from the messaging channel and is established between the newsapplication and at least the one external information processing system;displaying, while presenting the electronic news item in the newsapplication, a messaging window within the news application based onsending the first message, wherein the messaging window is separate anddistinct from the electronic news item and the option to chat about theelectronic news item; receiving a second message from the recipient overthe messaging channel, the second message being associated with a uniquemessaging identifier of the sender and having been composed in acorresponding news application in association with at least the portionof content from the electronic news item sent to the recipient by thesender; and displaying, while presenting the electronic news item in thenews application, the second message in the messaging window.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first message comprises an invitation toview the electronic news item.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining which of a plurality of contacts have the newsapplication, and enabling selection of the recipient from a list ofcontacts having the news application.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising enabling the recipient to obtain the news application.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising organizing news items in the newsapplication according to which new items have chats associatedtherewith.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing a chatcomprising the second message from a set of chats presented in the newsapplication according to at least one criterion.
 7. The method of claim1, the messaging channel comprising instant messaging, the secondmessage being included in an instant messaging portion embedded in thenews application.
 8. A method comprising a recipient: receiving, withina news application, a first message from a sender over a messagingchannel associated with a messaging application that is separate anddistinct from the news application, the messaging application being usedto at least one of receive or transmit messages other than messages fromthe news application, wherein the news application is an executableapplication separate and distinct from a web browser, and wherein thenews application is dedicated to managing electronic news items andmessaging operations associated with the electronic news items, andwherein the first message was received utilizing peer-to-peer messagingenabling the recipient and the sender to directly communicate with eachother through a peer-to-peer network without requiring a dedicatedserver for the news application in order to manage peer-to-peermessaging between the sender and the recipient, the first message havingbeen sent by the sender from a corresponding news application using themessaging channel and further being associated with a unique messagingidentifier of the recipient, wherein the first message comprises aportion of content from an electronic news item viewed by the senderusing the corresponding news application and obtained from an externalinformation processing system, the first message further comprising aselectable option for obtaining the electronic news item associated withthe portion of content, wherein the selectable option is separate fromthe electronic news item, the electronic news items being accessible tothe sender and the recipient via a data channel associated with each ofthe news applications, wherein the data channel is separate and distinctfrom the messaging channel and is established between each of the newsapplications and at least the one external information processingsystem; displaying the first message including the portion of contentfrom the electronic news item and the selectable option within amessaging window of the news application; obtaining the electronic newsitem using the data channel in response to the recipient selecting theselectable option; presenting, in response to obtaining the electronicnews item, the electronic news item in the news application while atleast a portion of the first message is being displayed within themessaging window, wherein the messaging window is separate and distinctfrom the electronic news item; enabling, while presenting the electronicnews item in the news application, a second message to be composed inthe messaging window of the news application in association with theelectronic news item, the second message being associated with a uniquemessaging identifier of the sender; and sending the second message tothe sender using peer-to-peer messaging over the messaging channel toenable the sender to display the second message in a messaging windowbeing displayed in the corresponding news application in associationwith the electronic news item in the news application.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the first message comprises an invitation to view theelectronic news item.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprisingproviding a notification of receipt of the first message in associationwith an icon for the news application.
 11. The method of claim 8,further comprising enabling the news application to be obtained prior toobtaining the electronic news item.
 12. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising organizing news items in the news application according towhich new items have chats associated therewith.
 13. The method of claim8, further comprising removing a chat comprising the second message froma set of chats presented in the news application according to at leastone criterion.
 14. The method of claim 8, the messaging channelcomprising instant messaging, the second message being included in aninstant messaging portion embedded in the news application.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executableinstructions executable by one or more processors of an electronicdevice for: obtaining an electronic news item from at least one externalinformation processing system; presenting the electronic news item in anews application to a user of the electronic device, wherein the newsapplication is an executable application separate and distinct from aweb browser, and wherein the news application is dedicated to managingelectronic news items and messaging operations associated with theelectronic news items; providing, while presenting the electronic newsitem in the news application, an option in a user interface for the newsapplication to chat about the electronic news item utilizingpeer-to-peer messaging, wherein peer-to-peer messaging enables thesender and a recipient to directly communicate with each other through apeer-to-peer network without requiring a dedicated server for the newsapplication in order to manage peer-to-peer messaging between the senderand the recipient, and wherein the option is separate from theelectronic news item; in response to determining that the user hasselected the option, sending, from the news application, a first messageto a recipient using a messaging channel associated with a messagingapplication, where the messaging application is used to at leasttransmit messages other than messages from the news application, whereinthe first message is a peer-to-peer message and includes at least aportion of content from the electronic news item being viewed by userusing the news application and a selectable option for obtaining theelectronic news item associated with the portion of content, theselectable option being separate and distinct from the portion ofcontent, wherein the electronic news item is accessible to the user andthe recipient via a data channel associated with the news application,wherein the data channel is separate and distinct from the messagingchannel and is established between the news application and at least theone external information processing system; displaying, while presentingthe electronic news item in the news application, a messaging windowwithin the news application based on sending the first message, whereinthe messaging window is separate and distinct from the electronic newsitem and the option to chat about the electronic news item; receiving asecond message from the recipient over the messaging channel, the secondmessage being associated with a unique messaging identifier of the userand having been composed in a corresponding news application inassociation with at least the portion of content from the electronicnews item sent to the recipient by the user; and displaying, whilepresenting the electronic news item in the news application, the secondmessage in the messaging window.
 16. An electronic device comprising aprocessor and memory, the memory comprising computer executableinstructions that when executed by the processor operate the electronicdevice to: obtain an electronic news item from at least one externalinformation processing system; present the electronic news item in anews application to a user of the electronic device, wherein the newsapplication is an executable application separate and distinct from aweb browser, and wherein the news application is dedicated to managingelectronic news items and messaging operations associated with theelectronic news items; provide, while the electronic news item is beingpresented in the news application, an option in a user interface for thenews application to chat about the electronic news item utilizingpeer-to-peer messaging, wherein peer-to-peer messaging enables the userand a recipient to directly communicate with each other through apeer-to-peer network without requiring a dedicated server for the newsapplication in order to manage peer-to-peer messaging between the senderand the recipient, and wherein the option is separate from theelectronic news item; in response to determining that the user hasselected the option, send, from the news application, a first message toa recipient using a messaging channel associated with a messagingapplication, where the messaging application is used to at leasttransmit messages other than messages from the news application, whereinthe first message is a peer-to-peer message and includes at least aportion of content from the electronic news item being viewed on theelectronic device by the user using the news application and aselectable option for obtaining the electronic news item associated withthe portion of content, the selectable option being separate anddistinct from the portion of content, wherein the electronic news itemis accessible to the user and the recipient via a data channelassociated with the news application, wherein the data channel isseparate and distinct from the messaging channel and is establishedbetween the news application and at least the one external informationprocessing system; display, while the electronic news item is beingpresented in the news application, a messaging window within the newsapplication based on sending the first message, wherein the messagingwindow is separate and distinct from the electronic news item and theoption to chat about the electronic news item; receive a second messagefrom the recipient over the messaging channel, the second message beingassociated with a unique messaging identifier of the user and havingbeen composed in a corresponding news application in association with atleast the portion of content from the electronic news item sent to therecipient by the user; and display, while the electronic news item isbeing presented in the news application, the second message in themessaging window.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable mediumcomprising computer executable instructions for: receiving, within anews application on a portable electronic device associated with arecipient, a first message from a sender over a messaging channelassociated with a messaging application that is separate and distinctfrom the news application, the messaging application being used to atleast one of receive or transmit messages other than messages from thenews application, wherein the news application is an executableapplication separate and distinct from a web browser, and wherein thenews application is dedicated to managing electronic news items andmessaging operations associated with the electronic news items, thefirst message having been received utilizing peer-to-peer messagingenabling the recipient and the sender to directly communication witheach other through a peer-to-peer network without requiring a dedicatedserver for the news application in order to manage peer-to-peermessaging between the sender and the recipient, the first message havingbeen sent by the sender from a corresponding news application using themessaging channel and further being associated with a unique messagingidentifier of the recipient, wherein the first message comprises aportion of content from an electronic news item viewed by the senderusing corresponding news application and obtained from an externalinformation processing system, the first message further comprising aselectable option for obtaining the electronic news item associated withthe portion of content, wherein the selectable option is separate fromthe electronic news item, the electronic news items being accessible tothe sender and the recipient via a data channel associated with each ofthe news applications, wherein the data channel is separate and distinctfrom the messaging channel and is established between each of the newsapplications and at least the one external information processingsystem; displaying, by the portable electronic device, the first messageincluding the portion of content from the electronic news item and theselectable option within a messaging window of the news application;obtaining, by the portable electronic device, the electronic news itemusing the data channel in response to the recipient selecting theselectable option; presenting, in response to obtaining the electronicnews item, the electronic news item in the news application while atleast a portion of the first message is being displayed within themessaging window, wherein the messaging window is separate and distinctfrom the electronic news item; enabling, by the portable electronicdevice and while presenting the electronic news item in the newsapplication, a second message to be composed the messaging window of thenews application in association with the electronic news item, thesecond message being associated with a unique messaging identifier ofthe sender; and sending, by the portable electronic device, the secondmessage to the sender using peer-to-peer messaging over the messagingchannel to enable the sender to display the second message in amessaging window being displayed in the corresponding news applicationin association with the electronic news item in the news application.18. An electronic device comprising a processor and memory, the memorycomprising computer executable instructions that when executed by theprocessor operate the electronic device to: receive, within a newsapplication, a first message from a sender over a messaging channelassociated with a messaging application that is separate and distinctfrom the news application, the messaging application being used to atleast one of receive or transmit messages other than messages from thenews application, wherein the news application is an executableapplication separate and distinct from a web browser, and wherein thenews application is dedicated to managing electronic news items andmessaging operations associated with the electronic news items, thefirst message having been received utilizing peer-to-peer messagingenabling the recipient and the sender to directly communication witheach other through a peer-to-peer network without requiring a dedicatedserver for the news application in order to manage messaging between thesender and the recipient, the first message having been sent by thesender from a corresponding news application using the messaging channeland further being associated with a unique messaging identifier of therecipient, wherein the first message comprises a portion of content froman electronic news item viewed by the sender using the correspondingnews application and obtained from an external information processingsystem, the first message further comprising a selectable option forobtaining the electronic news item associated with the portion ofcontent, wherein the selectable option is separate from the electronicnews item, the electronic news items being accessible to the sender andthe electronic device via a data channel associated with each of thenews applications, wherein the data channel is separate and distinctfrom the messaging channel and is established between each of the newsapplications and at least the one external information processingsystem; displaying the first message including the portion of contentfrom the electronic news item and the selectable option within amessaging window of the news application; obtain the electronic newsitem using the data channel in response to the recipient selecting theselectable option; presented, in response to the electronic news itemhaving been obtained, the electronic news item in the news applicationwhile at least a portion of the first message is being displayed withinthe messaging window, wherein the messaging window is separate anddistinct from the electronic news item; enable, while presenting theelectronic news item in the news application, a second message to becomposed in the messaging window of the news application, the secondmessage being associated with a unique messaging identifier of thesender and being composed in association with the electronic news item;and send the second message to the sender using peer-to-peer messagingover the messaging channel to enable the sender to display the secondmessage in a messaging window being displayed in the corresponding newsapplication in association with the electronic news item in the newsapplication.